American arrested in RP on prostitution charges

A US citizen was arrested in the Philippines for allegedly running a prostitution ring that preyed on young women who fled the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan last year, police said yesterday.

The suspect, identified as Mark Franklin Hill, was apprehended on Saturday during a raid on two nightclubs in Angeles City, 75 kilometres north of Manila, where 18 minors were rescued, said chief inspector Elizabeth Jasmin.

Two waitresses and 17 other workers at the clubs were also arrested, she said. A second American suspect was not at the nightclubs during the raid, Jasmin added.

Police said Hill and the other suspect operated a prostitution syndicate that recruited young women from eastern Philippines, where the typhoon wiped out communities and killed more than 6,200 last year.